The problem of Rohingya refugees seems to be emerging anew in Bangladesh. Their number is increasing in the bordering districts of southeastern Bangladesh contrary to official statistics that all but some 20,000 Rohingyas have been repatriated. Unofficial sources claim that there is a massive rise in Rohingya population as a large number have come back and their population has now reached what it was earlier. The only difference is that this time most of them are illegal immigrants and their status as refugees is not recognized by the local government or the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The Rohingyas started migrating to Bangladesh in the 1990s due to unfavourable political circumstances in neighbouring Burma. Bangladesh had espoused their cause and UNHCR recognized them as refugees. Their total number then was 250,877 out of which Bangladesh managed to send back 236,490 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. The camps are now supposed to have 19,841individuals including children born in the camps. The repatriation of Rohingya refugees was therefore considered to be an international success. Even the refugees who have not been repatriated are living in two well-managed camps, with food rations and other living facilities, and have the option of returning home.

But, it now appears that the problem is far from over. Recently it was found that a large number of Rohingyas estimated to be about 200,000 are staying outside the camps in the Ukhiya and Teknaf regions of Cox's Bazar. These people are living a miserable life in makeshift camps, hills and forests. They use waterways and land borders to cross over, and have set up floating settlements in different places all over Cox's Bazar district, including the beach town itself. There settlements can also be seen in the other two hill districts and a few in Chittagong. Earlier in 2001, former Rohingya Refugee Repatriation Commission (RRRC) joint secretary, Borhanuddin Ahmed, had reported that there were over 150,000 Rohingya interlopers in Cox's Bazar. Though this report created a stir, no serious effort was made to address the problem. Now this number has swelled to over two hundred thousand.

A number of factors have accelerated this immigration of Rohingyas into Bangladesh. The most important reason is the unstable political situation in Myanmar. Though Bangladesh is also poor, Coxâ€ââ€